I Think I Might Love You
by stuffbylouie
Summary: Sora is going out with Matt while Tai pretends to be okay with it when he really isn't so Izzy sets him up with his American friend Becky who thinks Tai's cute but then Izzy realises he's in love with Becky while not even noticing Yolei ...
1. I Think I Might Love You, I

**I Think I Might Love You**

**Summary:**

_Sora is going out with Matt while Tai pretends to be okay with it when he really isn't so Izzy sets him up with his American friend Becky who thinks Tai's cute but then Izzy realises he's in love with Becky while not even noticing Yolei is crushing on him as she tries to tell Davis to forget about Kari because Kari likes TK but then TK starts going out with this Irish chick Nell who's a musician like Matt who goes to Los Angeles for a while with his band where he meets up with Mimi who's been writing to Joe who secretly wishes Mimi would come back to Japan so he can tell her how he really feels ..._

_And that's only the beginning._

This chapter has been edited as of **10/2/10**. Nothing too major. 'I Think I Might Love You' is a Taiora, but includes lots of other couples as well. Who will end up with who? You'll just have to read and find out! Enjoy.

* * *

**Teaser**

"Okay, so we'll kiss on three. Ready?"

"Ready."

"One ... two ... three ... "

TK and Kari's faces inch closer and closer together ... until ...

_Their first kiss._

All of a sudden they break apart – in laughter.

"Oh my gosh!" giggled Kari. TK was laughing on the couch beside her. It was early in the morning, and they were both sitting in the Kamiya's lounge room, on the verge of heading out to school.

"That was ... "

"_Awkward_!" Kari cut it. "So we officially suck at the kissing thing then?"

"We do!" TK said with a nod. "We really do ... "

He took her hand, after their laughter had quietened down.

"You know you're my number one girl though, right? Now and for always? It's just kissing you is like ... "

"Kissing your sister?" Kari cut in again. "We predicted as such. So I guess this means ... friends?"

They were still holding hands. TK smiled at her.

"You know it."

"Too bad. I was really hoping you were the right guy for me."

"The right guy's out there somewhere for you, Kari."

"Like who?"

"Well there's always Davis."

They both burst into laughter again.

"TK I swear, if you EVER tell Davis you said that I'll kill you!"

"Hey, I thought we were friends?"

"We are," she smiled. "Now and for always."

* * *

**I Think I Might Love You, I.**

_Thursday morning. Time for school._

"TK! Kari! Hey guys, over here!"

TK and Kari board the school bus. They were warmly (and loudly) greeted by Yolei, sitting in the back with Cody.

"We saved you a seat!" said Yolei, patting the empty seat beside her.

"Where's Davis?" asked TK, as he sat down.

"Late like always," commented Cody smartly.

Shortly after TK and Kari had boarded the school bus, the glass doors sealed shut. The bus then pulled out of the curb, just as –

"HEY! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING? COME BACK HERE!"

Cody was, predictably, right. Davis was late. Refusing defeat, he proceedes to chase the bus on foot.

"I SAID STOP YOU BIG METAL IDIOT! WAHA!"

Davis trips, falling face down on the pavement. To add insult to injury, he gets a nice glimpse of TK and Kari sitting together in the backseat of the bus as it speeds away.

"How come Kari didn't see me?" he grumbled angrily, standing and dusting the dirt off his knees. "It's 'cause she was too busy talking to that stupid TP! Stupid TP with his stupid white hat and his dumb – WO!"

A car suddenly honks at Davis, followed by an angry yell. Davis takes the hint and sprints away from the road.

"Sorry mister! AH!"

Davis runs into none other then –

"_Tai_!"

"Hi Davis," said Tai, smirking. "Eh ... going somewhere?"

"I missed the school bus."

"Again?"

"Hey it's only happened ten times before!"

Tai chuckles. "Come on Davis, let's walk."

"Why aren't you worried about being late?" Davis asked Tai as they started walking, only Tai didn't answer right away. He was distracted by a couple who were driving by on an aqua coloured motor scooter ...

_Matt and Sora._

"Tai?"

"Huh? Sorry, what did you say Davis?"

"I was saying why aren't you worried about being late for school?"

"Oh. Well, my classes start later in the day," Tai finally answered.

"Sweet!" said Davis, enthused. "Man, I can't wait 'til I get older so my classes start later in the day."

"You'd still be late regardless."

"I know, I know ... "

As Tai and Davis walked and talked, neither of them noticed the sushi restaurant to their right. Nor did they notice the green-eyed blond girl with an orange headscarf staring at them through the window ...

"_Becky_! Earth to Becky Ford!"

Somebody was calling the green-eyed blond girl with the orange headscarf's name at the very moment, from the entrance door of the sushi restaurant.

"Izzy!" Becky replied, startled, as she looked around.

"What were you staring at?" Izzy wondered, curious.

"_Nobody_! I mean nothing," said Becky quickly. "I mean ... ready for school?"

"My mum's waiting for us outside. Got your bag?"

"Right here!" She bent down to pick it up. Before leaving, she called out: "Bye Mr. Sugimoto! I'm going to school now. And thanks for the job!"

As Becky called out, a sushi chef with a moustache sticks his head out from the kitchen and yells: "Goodbye, Becky Ford! Enjoy your first day."

Izzy and Becky walk down the street together, towards Mrs. Izumi's car.

"Wow, so Mr. Sugimoto gave you the job then?" Izzy asked her, to which Becky nodded happily.

"Yep! I'll be working there on Saturdays and sometimes after school."

"Congrats! You've only been in Japan what, five days?"

"I know! Everything's happening so fast. New job ... first day of school ... "

Izzy noticed she suddenly seemed nervous. "Hey, don't worry! It's gonna be great," he said, attempting to boost her confidence. "All my friends are dying to meet Willis Ford's older sister. Trust me, you'll be the most popular girl in school."

As Izzy and Becky climbed into the back seat of Mrs. Izumi's car, they immediately retrieved their laptops from their bags at the exact same time – Izzy's was yellow, Becky's was lavender. Izzy's mother snickered from the driver's seat.

"You kids today and your technology! You know when _I_ was a kid, a good book never went astray – "

"Hey, I got an email from Mimi!" cried Izzy excitedly, not paying his mother the slightest bit of attention. Perturbed, Mrs. Izumi sighs and starts the car.

"Why do I even bother ... "

"What does Mimi's email say?" Becky asked Izzy, craning her neck over to his laptop.

"She says she hopes you enjoy your first day at school! Plus she says Willis says hi ... "

"What? I can't believe he didn't bother to send me an email himself!"

On cue, a 'ping' sound came from Becky's laptop. Her messenger window pops up – it's Willis.

"Oh wait! Here he is now ... " She begins to type her brother a message. "I had faith he'd pull through."

"Willis and Mimi must be hanging out while Willis is in New York," said Izzy, sounding well informed. Becky smiled and chuckled.

"Yeah! He'd love that considering he has a major thing for her ... "

To this, Izzy went wide-eyed. "Say _what_? Willis likes Mimi!"

"Woops! Pretend you didn't hear that, okay?"

As Mrs. Izumi drives Izzy and Becky to school, a car passes them going in the opposite direction. The driver of this car appears to be talking to himself ...

"Mimi. I have always ... no wait! That's no good, start again. Okay ... _Mimi_."

Joe – the driver of the car in question, stops at a red light. While waiting for the pedestrians cross, he clears his throat and continues with his 'speech'.

"Mimi, please don't be alarmed by what I'm about to tell you, but I think that I ... that I might ... oh, why is this so _hard_!"

In frustration, Joe drops his head onto the steering wheel. Honking the horn by accident.

"AH!" he cried. A number of pedestrians crossing the street also cried out, before giving Joe a unanimous dirty look.

"Sorry!" he mouths, waving feebly to them all from behind the windscreen. "So sorry ... "

The traffic light flashes green. Joe begins to drive again – and talk.

"Mimi ... er, I like your hair!"

As Joe heads to college, everyone else is bound for High School.


	2. I Think I Might Love You, II

**I Think I Might Love You, II.**

"_I'm here, I'm here_!"

Davis, who was more than extremely late, swept into Math class like a gust of wind. The Math teacher was not impressed and ordered him to take his seat. Davis immediately searched for Kari, only she was already sitting next to –

"_TJ_! Sitting in my seat, aren't you?"

"Funny, I don't see your name on it Davis," TK responded wittily. Kari giggles, while Davis 'grrrs' angrily like animal.

"_Sit down_, Davis," came Yolei's voice. She grabs his arm and yanks him into the seat beside her. "You're really late you know!"

"Gee Yolei, thanks for telling me I hardly noticed! TJ stole my seat."

"It's 'TK', you dimwit! Seriously, how many times do we have to remind you?"

Davis glared at TK and Kari sitting together, burning holes into the back of TK with his eyes.

"Look at him ... sitting there," he sneered in a low voice. "Sitting there all full of himself!"

Yolei sighed in annoyance.

"What are you talking about, Davis? There's nothing wrong with the way TK's sitting, he's just sitting!"

"He's sitting too straight."

"It's called good posture!"

"That idiot. He's trying to impress Kari with posture!"

"_You're_ the idiot, Davis!"

Meanwhile, in another part of the building ...

Tai was sitting in the back of senior Chemistry, idly twirling a pencil in his hand. He can hardly concentrate on what the teacher's saying because he's too busy staring at Matt and Sora sitting two rows ahead. Matt kept putting his hand on Sora's knee beneath the desk ...

Suddenly, without meaning to, Tai snaps his pencil clean in half. To make his day worse, he wasn't teamed up with Izzy for Chemistry like he usually was because Izzy had today's class off to tour Becky Ford around the school. That meant Tai was teamed up with Davis's annoying sister Jun instead.

"Tai! Tai Kamiya, are you turned on?"

"_Somebody throw me a lifeline, I'm drowning here!" _Tai thought to himself hopelessly, before reluctantly turning to Jun.

"Ah ... you said something, Jun? Were you talking to me?"

"Who else would I be talking to! The teacher wants us to 'bunsen burn' something, where have you been?"

"Out to lunch?"

"_Huh_?"

"Nevermind, let's just start already."

"You're the worst lab partner ever!" remarked Jun rudely, before becoming distracted by Matt and Sora herself. "Humph! I can't believe that Sora girl stole my boyfriend."

Tai glared at Jun in severe disbelief.

"_Boyfriend? He'd rather date a gorilla then you. Plus your head looks like a friggen starfish!"_

"I give them another week, tops!" Jun went on to predict.

"Forget it," said Tai glumly. "Matt and Sora, they're really ... in love."

"Oh, and what makes _you_ the expert?"

"I'm their best friend!"

"Well I know Sora's your best friend. Hey, I have a cool idea! Steal her away from Matt and then Matt will come running back to me!"

Tai felt tempted to snap another pencil in half. _And_ Jun's neck while he was at it.

_The bell rang_.

That was everyone's cue to meet up in the computer room, because Izzy was going to introduce them all to Becky. On the way out of Chemistry, Matt and Sora caught up with Tai.

"Tai! Hey, Tai!" they called from behind him. Tai braced himself.

"_Time to put your happy face on, Tai ... "_

"Hey you two!" said Tai, grinning and turning round to face them. "Good class, huh?"

"What are you talking about dude, you were teamed up with Jun for forty-five minutes straight!" said Matt, with a pained expression. "Aren't you nauseous?"

"Nah, she was okay," said Tai, seemingly indifferent. "Except for the part where she almost burnt off my hair ... "

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom real quick," said Matt. "Meet you guys in the computer room?"

"We'll see you there," said Sora.

With Matt gone, Tai and Sora made their way down the hall.

"So how's soccer going?" Sora asked. To Tai's joy – _and_ his dismay, she'd interlocked her arm with his.

"_Doesn't she know what she does to me?" _he thought, deeply anguished.

"Soccer's good!" Tai responded outloud, keeping his cool. "We could still use your skills on the field, though."

"You know I spied on you practicing the other day ... "

"Spying on me, huh?" said Tai with a smirk. Sora smiled.

"I'll come and say hi in person next time."

"You better! If you don't, I'll have make a point of spying on you playing tennis."

Truth be told, Tai _always_ spied on Sora playing tennis ... but he wasn't about to tell her that!

"So what's the story with Izzy and Willis' sister?" Sora went on to ask.

It was a topic they'd all been discussing for the last couple of months – ever since they found out about Becky Ford, and how she was coming to live in Japan for the rest of the year and stay with Izzy's family. Izzy and Willis had been friends for a while, which is evidently how Izzy had come to know Becky.

"I don't know," said Tai honestly. "As far as I've been told, they're only good friends."

"But he's talked about her constantly ever since he knew she was coming to live here," Sora pointed out.

"Not to mention chatting to her on the internet ever day ... " Tai added.

"Right! I've never heard Izzy talk about anything so enthusiastically since he bought that new high speed modem."

Walking down the hall up ahead, Davis and the others were having a similar discussion ...

"She's apparently really into graphic design," Kari was saying to the others, in reference to Becky. "Izzy says she's really talented."

"So she's just as much of a computer nerd as Izzy then?" said TK. "Sounds like a match made in microchip heaven!"

"They're just _friends_!" snapped Yolei all of sudden, stopping everyone in their tracks. Davis cackled with laughter.

"Ha ha, guys check it out! Yolei's jealous."

"_Shut up_!" Yolei snapped again. "Izzy said they were just friends so I don't know WHY we're all speculating whether or not they're an item! Its meaningless gossip is what it is, you should all be ashamed of yourselves!"

"Gosh Yolei, mellow out!" said Davis, suppressing his laughter. "First you're crushing on Ken, then Izzy. Make up your mind!"

"Good thing Ken's out of town til the end of summer visiting his sick grandma," Kari whispered in TK's ear. "You know how he much he hates hearing Yolei go on about Izzy lately ... "

_They enter the computer room._

"Guys, this is Becky!"

Izzy introduced Becky to the gang. Cody had arrived first, then Davis, Kari, TK and a disgruntled Yolei – she was the only one _not_ quite so happy to make Becky's acquaintance.

"It's so nice to finally meet you all!" said Becky. "Willis has told me so much about you."

"Whatever he's told you about me, don't believe it!" said Davis, to which everyone laughed.

On that note, Tai and Sora entered the room. When Becky set eyes on Tai, she couldn't help but flush a little. If that wasn't enough, Tai went and walked right up to her.

"You must be Becky! Welcome to Japan, I'm Tai."

"He ... llo," Becky replied awkwardly. Luckily Sora intervened.

"I'm Sora! How are you finding school so far?"

"Still settling in," said Becky, eyes darting in Tai's direction and then quickly away again. "Everything's so new!"

Matt arrived shortly after. He went up to Becky like the others.

"Hey! I'm Matt."

"Hey! The one in the band, right?"

Matt chuckled. "I guess Izzy gave you the lowdown on us all already, huh?"

"Willis helped out," said Izzy, happy that everyone was getting along.

TK whispered to Davis: "She's pretty cute!" Davis couldn't agree more.

"I know, right?"

Kari, who'd overheard them, gave them both a stern glare.

"Not as cute as you, Kari!" Davis couldn't help but say offhandedly. Kari just turned up her chin and smirked.

* * *

**Thanks for your reviews so far guys! I wanted to get chapter II up quick, so you have a better idea of where the story will be heading. See you all in chappie III :)**


	3. I Think I Might Love You, III

**I Think I Might Love You, III.**

Becky Ford's introduction to the group had been a complete success! As the day wore on, and school had finished, Cody and Davis went to Yolei's house to study. Well ... in Davis' case, he'd gone over there to try and convince Yolei to do his homework for him. The plan was, least to say, unsuccessful. They were all sitting on the floor in Yolei's bedroom with their homework, pens and pencils strewn across the carpet.

"Davis, write your own essay!"

"You're just crabby 'cause Izzy likes that Becky girl more then you!" said Davis, reigniting Yolei's fury. Cody shook his head in dismay.

"Here we go ... "

"They're _friends_, Davis! Besides, didn't anybody else see the way she turned red when Tai introduced himself to her?"

"_No_!"

"Yes ," said Cody quietly.

Davis flicked his head towards Cody. "What? No you didn't!"

"Yes I did."

"YES!" cried Yolei in triumph. "I knew I wasn't the only one who noticed that. Becky likes Tai!"

"But she can't like Tai!" said Davis in protest. "She can't like Tai because Izzy likes her!"

"No he doesn't, they're just – "

"_Friends_," Davis and Cody said together in a flat tone, before Yolei could say it.

"So when's Kari coming over?" said Davis, keen to move the conversation along.

"She's not coming over, she went to her place with TK," Yolei informed him simply.

"WHAT!" yelled Davis, standing from the floor in anger. "You said she was coming over here to study with us!"

"She changed her mind, Davis," said Cody. "Sometimes people do that."

"Yeah, she said her and TK had something important to discuss," added Yolei. Davis was ready to crack.

"But – but! What could they possibly have to discuss without us present?"

"I don't know, wedding plans?" said Yolei, battering her eyelashes. Davis however, was less amused.

"Very funny! You're a regular comedian, Yolei."

Yolei sighed and looked to Davis seriously. "Davis, when are you going to get over this silly infatuation with Kari?"

"Like you should talk!" Davis fought back, sitting down on the ground. "And I'm not infatuated with Kari, I _love_ her!"

"Oh get real!"

"Davis, do you even know the difference between love and infatuation?" Cody cut in.

"Sure I do! Everybody knows that," said Davis, who then attempted to explain the difference in a highhanded fashion: "Love is ... no wait, infatuation is ... um ... "

Cody cut in again. "Love is reciprocal, infatuation is one-sided. Infatuation is putting someone high up on a pedestal that's near impossible to reach. You don't look to the other person for signs they might feel the same way, you just obsess over your own feelings. Love on the other hand, is when truly connect with another person. When you don't think about yourself anymore."

Davis and Yolei blink at Cody in amazement.

"Dude, that was mega deep for a fourteen year old," said Davis, very impressed.

"Thirteen year old," Cody corrected him. "My birthday's not til January."

Yolei was just as impressed as Davis. If not more so.

"Cody, I could kiss you! See Davis? You're not in love with Kari you're _infatuated_ with her!"

"Nuh uh! Me and Kari are totally ... what's that word Cody used? Recyclable?"

Yolei and Cody groan and collapse on the floor. They didn't have the energy to go on.

Speaking of Kari ...

"Bye TK! Thanks for coming over."

Kari was saying goodbye to TK at her front door. Before he left, he gave her a hug.

"I'm glad we talked," he said next to ear. "I just wanted to make sure that kiss ... well, that it really didn't make anything weird between us." Kari pulled back and smiled at him.

"Don't worry about it."

After TK left for good, Kari went to knock on Tai's bedroom door. He'd been holed up in there ever since the end of school. It was becoming routine for him to do this: to come home from school or soccer practice, and then lock himself up in his room and not talk to anyone. She found it unlikely he was spending all this time in there doing his homework ...

"Tai?" she said as she knocked. "Tai, can I come in?"

"I'm not decent," Tai called back. Kari went in anyway.

"_Kari_!" Tai cried in shock. Thankfully, he _was _decent. He was lying down on his bed, still dressed in his school uniform.

"What have I told you about trying to lie to me?" said Kari, with her hands on her hips.

"That it doesn't work?"

"Right! What are you doing in here, spending valuable time staring at the ceiling?"

"None of your business Kari, go away!"

"Tai ... have you been upset?"

His eyes were a dead give away. Tai hastily rolled over on his side, facing away from her.

"I've just been yawning!" he said, defensive. "Think I'll go to sleep now. Goodnight!"

"It's five o'clock in the afternoon, Tai."

"Who cares."

Worried, Kari went and sat on the bed behind him. And then she said ...

"You're in love with her, aren't you?"

Instead of incurring a severe reaction from her older brother, Tai just lay silently on the bed.

"Is it that obvious?"

"I'm your sister, Tai. Izzy knows too."

This sparked a reaction. He looked over to her.

"You told _Izzy_?"

"He figured it out on his own! After all, he's the one you spend most of your time with now Matt and Sora are together. We're the ones who see how you've changed since they started dating. How could we not?"

Tai turned away from her again.

"Matt and Sora are my best friends, Kari," he said sadly. "I would never do anything to jeopardize what they have. But I can't stop these feelings ... I've felt this way about Sora since we were little kids. Now that I'm old enough to understand it, it's too late. If it was anybody but Matt ... "

Kari lied down next to her big brother, resting her head against his back.

"This sucks," was all she could say. Tai chuckled lightly.

"Big time."

Later that afternoon, after leaving Tai alone, Izzy and Kari were video chatting on their computers. Kari felt compelled to tell Izzy about her discussion with Tai.

"I can't believe he didn't end up with Sora," Izzy said to her. "You haven't told anybody else about this, have you Kari? Because I don't think you should."

"No, of course not!" Kari responded. "Tai would murder me. I haven't even told TK! I think it'd be weird considering Matt's his brother."

"I wish there was something we could do for him. I miss the old Tai ... "

"I know," said Kari. "If only ... if only he fell for somebody else?"

On cue, Becky knocked on Izzy's bedroom door.

"Hey Izzy! It's me, can I come in? I need to talk to you ... "

"I'll speak to you later," Izzy said to Kari hastily, and then logged off. "Come in!"

Becky entered Izzy's room, dressed in a pale blue shirt and grey trackpants. "Hey."

"Hey! What's up? Take a seat."

He gestured to his bed, where Becky sat down. Izzy remained on his computer chair.

"I was ... um," Becky started to speak – awkwardly. "I was hoping you could tell me if ... "

Izzy chuckled. Becky looked at him strangely.

"What?"

"Nothing! It's just you do this really cute thing whenever you're nervous."

"What thing?"

"This ... " Izzy imitated her – furrowing his brow and looking worried, the way she did it. Becky laughed, as did Izzy.

"Thanks Izzy, now I'm all self-conscious!"

"Sorry!" said Izzy, ceasing to laugh. "Go ahead. You were saying?"

"Is your friend Tai single?"

Throwing caution to the wind, Becky decided to just blurt it out. Izzy was stunned ... he didn't see that one coming in a million years!

"Ah," Izzy started to say, taking a moment. "Becky, are you telling me you like Tai?"

"Is that okay?"

"Actually," said Izzy, thinking this over, "it's _perfect_!"

"It is?"

Energised by this new development, Izzy stood from his chair and went to sit beside Becky.

"Becky, you _have_ to go out with him!"

"I ... hang on! I was just interested to know if he was single first."

"He is! He's SO single!"

"But ... Izzy! We don't even know if he likes me back."

"Why wouldn't he? Look Becky, leave everything to me. I'll set this whole thing up!"

While Tai had no clue to this sudden dramatic turn in his love life, TK had met Matt in town. Matt was picking him up on this motor scooter.

"So what's the story with you and Kari?" Matt couldn't help but ask, tossing his little brother his spare helmet.

"I'll tell you about at home," said TK, catching the helmet. "I'm dying to eat something!"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you! We're making a pit stop ... "

"Figures."

The pit stop was a local bar that was popular for live acts – close to where Matt and TK lived. Matt parked out front.

"Matt, remind me why we're stopping here again?"

"My band's playing here tomorrow night," Matt explained. "I need to go in for a sec and check something with the stage ... "

TK followed Matt inside the bar, which was near deserted. It was far too early for the usual bar crawlers to be hanging about. It was a small place – classy. Like a jazz club. As Matt chatted with the bartender, TK was looking towards the small stage to his right. Three guys and a girl were standing there, dressed in torn denim and black leather. The girl and two of the guy's had electric guitars round their necks, while the other guy was sitting behind a set of drums. The girl came to the forefront.

"Testing testing, one two three," the girl spoke into a microphone with a smooth Irish accent. She had auburn hair, cat-like hazel eyes and a nose piercing.

"Evening ladies and gentlemen," she rehearsed to an imaginary audience. "We're from Ireland and our band is called 'Garfunk'. We hope you enjoy the show."

When she said "we hope you enjoy the show", she looked directly at TK across the empty tables and chairs and winked at him. TK, feeling his tummy backflip, immediately pretended to be interested in something on the opposite side of the room ...

"That band 'Garfunk' is really good," said Matt to TK conversationally, walking up behind him. He'd just finished talking to the bartender. "They're playing before us tomorrow night. That lead singer, she has a great voice."

"You don't say?" said TK, still nervy over the way the lead singer with the great voice had looked over at him. "So aren't you going to check out the stage or something?"

"Nah, I'll do it tomorrow. I didn't realise they'd be here rehearsing. C'mon, let's go home. And tell me about you and Kari already!"

As Garfunk started to play some music, Matt and TK left the bar. TK resisted the urge to look back at the stage on his way out.


	4. I Think I Might Love You, IV

**I Think I Might Love You, IV.**

"Mimi ... "

_Early the next morning. Friday._

Joe was at his house, sitting at his computer while attempting to write a long-planned and important email to Mimi before leaving for college. It was so important he could barely finish the first line! After ten or so minutes of not being able to type anything but 'Mimi', Joe lent back in his chair and let out a tortured sigh.

"If only I could say it all to her in person ... "

And there in lied the problem: Mimi lived in New York now. Leave it to Joe to realise he had feelings for her once she was in a different country.

"Oh Mimi, why won't you come back to Japan?"

"Ah ... Joe?"

Joe's older brother Jim was standing behind him – to Joe's complete horror.

"_Jim_!" Joe cried in alarm, swivelling around on his computer chair. "How much did you hear?"

"Oh Mimi, why won't you come back to Japan," Jim repeated, monotone. This only escalated Joe's horror.

"Excuse me while I crawl under my desk and die!" Jim simply laughed at him.

"Joe, for once in your life _relax_! Mimi ... wasn't she the girl who came over here once? Talking about how she loved the interior layout of our living room but that we should add more plant life?"

"Yep," nodded Joe. "That would be the one. We've been writing to eachother almost every day ... but it's not enough! I need to see her in person."

"And she lives in America now?"

"_Yes_!" Joe was more miserable than ever. "I've been entering every competition I can find that'll win me a trip to New York City! Or any part of the USA for that matter. They have a really good bus system over there, I could always get a bus to New York ... "

"Wow Joe," said Jim in awe. "You're really gone on this one, aren't you?"

"Jim, I'm sitting in my room talking to myself. What do you think?"

Meanwhile, chasing a school bus in the city streets –

"STOOOOOOOOP!"

Davis was late yet again. As the bus drove away, he looked up to the rear window where Yolei was smiling and waving to him stupidly.

"Sometimes I _really_ hate her!"

A car honked and pulled up alongside of him. The back window rolled down and Izzy's face appeared.

"Davis, what are you doing on the road? Trying to get hit by a car?"

"Not trying ... "

"Hop in!"

Taking Izzy's offer, Davis quickly got into the backseat of the car. He sat next to Izzy, putting Izzy between Davis and Becky. As Mrs. Izumi drove everyone to school, Yolei, Kari and Cody were all talking on the school bus up ahead ...

"So Matt's taking TK to school today?" Cody asked Kari, noting TK's absence that morning. Kari nodded.

"Sora's sick. Matt usually takes her to school on his scooter."

"I hope she's okay," said Yolei, before asking Kari something she'd been dying to ask for days. "So Kari – _what_ is happening with you and TK?"

Cody immediately hid his face behind a text book, loathing 'girl talk' in all its forms.

"Well ... " Kari started. "Yesterday morning, we tried to ... _you know_."

"KISS!" Yolei blurted out excitedly, causing everyone in the rows ahead to turn around and look at them all.

"Louder Yolei, I don't think Korea heard you," Cody said from behind his book. Kari continued to speak to Yolei in a lowered voice.

"Yeah we kissed, but ... it just didn't feel right. I felt like I was kissing my brother!"

"You mean you felt like you were kissing Tai?"

"Gross! I meant I've grown up with TK, and I love him, but he's always been like family. We decided to remain friends."

To say Yolei was let down by this news was an understatement.

"Talk about an anti-climax," she said disappointedly. "Kari, I've always thought you guys were totally meant for eachother! Are you sure you did it right?"

"Kissing's where you put your lips against another person's lips, correct?" Kari teased. Yolei smirked at her.

"So last I heard. Whatever you do, _don't_ tell Davis about this. Please! He'll be completely insufferable ... "

"I thought he already was."

Meanwhile, Matt had just arrived at school with TK. After Matt parked his motor scooter, TK ran off as Matt went to look for Tai. But Matt wasn't the only one looking for Tai that morning ...

"TAI! Hey Tai!"

Tai was standing in front of his locker. At the sound of his name, he turned to see who was calling him so incessantly. It was Jun – racing towards him from the other end of the hallway. Tai went pale with fear.

"What the hell does she want!" he groaned, wishing he could stuff himself inside his locker.

"Hi Tai!" said Jun, upbeat. "Guess what? I have the most fantastic idea!"

"You're moving to the Solomon Islands?"

"What? No, silly! Look, remember how I said yesterday you should hook up with Sora so that I could go out with Matt? Well ... what if _we_ pretended to go out with eachother. You and I!"

Tai's mind went into a tailspin.

"_I did NOT just hear that! I'm dreaming ... I've entered a parallel universe!"_

"Ah, Jun?" Tai spoke up, with a strained voice. "Why exactly would we do that?"

"Isn't it obvious?" said Jun matter-of-factly. "I want Matt and you want Sora!"

"I ... _what_!" Tai was thrown into a panic. He cleared his throat and attempted to cool down. "What ... what makes you think I want Sora?"

To this, Jun laughed and rolled her eyes. "I see the way you give her 'moon eyes' all the time, Tai. When she's coming down the hallway, when she's got her back to you in class, when she – "

"That's enough!" Tai cut in abruptly, panicked again. He desperately needed to steer Jun off course! "Listen, Jun. You've got this all wrong! I don't have feelings for Sora. We're friends, and she's going out with Matt. Okay? Nothing's gonna change that!"

"You can't fool me, Tai Kamiya," said Jun stubbornly, her arms crossed over her chest. "I'm more perceptive then people realise. If we went out, Sora would get totally jealous! You know why? Because she wants you too."

For a minute, Tai was intrigued to hear Jun's reasoning behind this point ... but he thought better of it.

"Forget it, Jun."

"But you're in love with her!"

"I am not in love with her!"

"Who aren't you in love with?"

"MATT!"

Matt had suddenly appeared, causing Tai to have a near hernia.

"Hi Matt!" said Jun, with exaggerated cheeriness. "How are tricks?"

"Um ... fine," said Matt, quickly eyeing Tai. "Do you mind if I steal Tai away for a moment, Jun? I need to talk with him alone."

"You can have more than a moment!" said Tai, grabbing Matt's arm and directing them as far away from Jun as possible.

"Bye bye!" Jun called out from behind them. "And Matt, don't keep my new boyfriend held up too long. We can't stand to be apart!"

Both Matt and Tai froze in motion – like a pair of ice sculptures. Giggling, Jun walked off in the other direction.

"Did she ... " Matt uttered, his eyes wide as saucers. "Did she just call you her _boyfriend_!"

"Ah ... yeah," said Tai admittedly. "She thinks I'm her boyfriend now."

"And _why_ does she think that?"

"She ... " Tai proceeded to lie. "She's got a crush on me! Go figure."

"No way! Jun likes you now?"

"What, is that so hard to believe?"

"I suppose you guys have lots in common. Big hair for one ... "

"Shut up!"

Matt laughed. "She's all yours buddy! Thanks for taking her off my hands."

"Don't mention it. So what did you want to talk to me about?"

Turning serious, Matt gestured for Tai to follow him out of the hallway and outside.

"It's about Sora," Matt began, as Tai listened intently. "As you know, summer holidays are just round the corner. Sora and I were looking forward to spending loads of time together, only something's happened. An opportunity I can't pass up ... "

Tai was intrigued. "What opportunity?"

"An opportunity for my band. My agent's got us invited to this party in LA. All the biggest names in music will be there! This could be my shot at the big leagues, Tai . My chance to make it in America. It's a dream come true!"

"That's awesome!" said Tai, truly happy for Matt. "Congratulations."

"Thanks. I told Sora about it last night. She wants me to go ... but she's also pretty bummed. I'd give anything for her to come with us, but my agent can only afford to fly the band. We'll be gone for two or three weeks."

"Why so long?"

"He's got us booked to perform a number of gigs. Like I said, I'd give anything for Sora to be with me! To make matters worse, most of Sora's girlfriends will be away for the summer. I hate to think of her all by herself ... that's what I wanted to talk to you about. Will you be there for her, Tai? While I'm gone? Watch over her ... "

"Of course I will, Matt," said Tai, not needing long to think about his response. "That goes without saying."

Smiling, Matt said, "I knew I could count on you. You know, that is, if you're not too busy with Jun over the summer ... "

"Are you looking for a punch in the face?" said Tai sarcastically, as he and Matt headed back inside the school.

Part of Tai was happy – the part that was Sora's best and oldest friend. But another part of Tai was ... worried. The side that secretly loved her. The side that ached to hold her and kiss her and ...

"TAI! Yo, Tai!"

"Wow, I'm popular this morning."

After he'd said goodbye to Matt, Tai crossed paths with Izzy on his way to his first class. Izzy sprinted towards him from the other end of the hall.

"Tai!" Izzy panted, very out of breath. "I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"What's up?"

"What are you doing straight after school today?"

"Ah ... I don't know. Why?"

"Great! Will you come with me to Mr. Sugimoto's sushi restaurant?"

"Why do you want to go there?"

"You will? Awesome! I'll see you there after school then, bye Tai!"

"Izzy, wait – "

But Izzy had zoomed off too fast, before Tai could get a word in.

"What just happened?" Tai wondered to himself out loud, blinking in bewilderment.

Meanwhile, about to enter their first class ...

"I can't believe Kari and TK aren't going out!" said Yolei to Cody, now that they were alone. Cody was about to say something, until another voice called out over them from behind.

"Say WHAT!" the voice echoed loudly throughout the hallways. Yolei and Cody wheeled around. It was –

"_Davis_!" Yolei cried. "What are you doing here? I thought you were late like every other day of your life!"

"I got a lift with Izzy. Did you just say Kari and TF _aren't_ going out with eachother?"

"Nuh uh!" said Yolei, acting as if Davis had heard her incorrectly. "What I meant was, ah ... er ... TK and Kari aren't going out with eachother _tonight_. Yeah!"

"I can't believe this ... " said Davis quietly. "They're not together?"

"That's not what I said!" Yolei retorted forcefully. Davis just chuckled at her.

"Nice try, Yolei. But you suck at lying!"

Davis walked past Cody and Yolei into class. Cody looked up at Yolei.

"Now you've done it," he said dimly. Yolei groaned and ran both her hands down her face.

"He could've walked up behind us at any other time. Any other time! But _nooo_, he had to walk up behind us at that exact moment! Kari's gonna kill me ... "

"Yep," Cody nodded. Yolei glared at him.

"You know Cody, a _little_ optimism wouldn't hurt!"


	5. I Think I Might Love You, V

**I Think I Might Love You, V.**

_After School_.

Since discovering TK and Kari were definitely _not_ going out, Davis had been silent and reflective for the remainder of the afternoon ... 'silent' and 'reflective' being words that were not commonly used to describe Davis Motomiya. The news had completely thrown him. Once school was out, he walked home through the city instead of catching a bus. After walking for a while, he came to stop at the street where rows upon rows of TV's were displayed in a giant shop window. Davis stared up at them all, deep in thought ...

"_How can they not be going out?" _

Nearby, entering Mr. Sugimoto's sushi restaurant ...

"Tai! You made it. Come over, sit down!"

Izzy was sitting at the sushi train. Tai went over and sat next to him, swinging his school bag onto the ground.

"Okay Izzy, I'm here. Now tell me what's going on!"

"What do you mean?" Izzy acted innocent. Tai wasn't buying it.

"You're up to something, I can taste it!"

"I'm not up to anything!"

All of a sudden, Becky appeared on the other side of the sushi train. She was dressed as a waitress and holding a cup of green tea.

"Hey Tai," she greeted him with a smile. "Would you like some tea?"

"Ah ... sure. Thanks." Tai took the cup from Becky, before saying, "I didn't know you worked here?"

"Just part-time. I'll bring you guys some sushi! Mr. Sugimoto's making it now."

With that, Becky turned away and headed back into the kitchen. Izzy leaned over to Tai and began to speak to him in a lowered voice.

"So ... what do you think of Becky? She's nice, huh?"

"Yeah, she's way cute."

This made Izzy excited.

"_Really_? You really think so?"

"Don't you?"

"That's not the point, Tai! The point is, Becky likes you."

Suddenly it was all so clear – why Izzy had asked Tai to come to Mr. Sugimoto's that afternoon.

"Izzy ... is this a _setup_?"

"Ssh!" Izzy hushed him. "Not so loud, dude."

"Izzy, I can't believe you're doing this!"

"What's the matter? Becky's the greatest! She's smart, funny, cute ... she's like the coolest girl I've ever met!"

"That's just it. I was under the impression YOU liked her," Tai spelled out plainly. "You said so yourself! She's the coolest girl you've ever met."

"Becky and I are only good friends. And besides! She told me she likes you. So how about it?"

"How about what?"

"Asking her out on a date! You do remember what a date is, don't you?"

"_Yes_!"

"Hey, I know! You can ask her to Matt's gig tonight."

"Izzy, slow down!" Tai had to intervene. "I haven't caught up with you yet ..."

"It'll be good for you, Tai. To start playing the field, you know? It'll help you get over ... stuff."

Before Tai could comment on what "stuff" meant, Becky returned with two plates of freshly made sushi.

"There you go guys, enjoy!" She put the plates in front of them. "Mr. Sugimoto says it's on the house."

"Gee, thanks!" said Tai, grabbing some chopsticks. "Tell Mr. Sugimoto he rocks."

"Ditto!" mumbled Izzy, who already had his mouth full.

"I'll be sure to pass on the message," said Becky, going back to the kitchen again to clean up. Izzy turned back to Tai, after swallowing his sushi down with a loud gulp.

"So?"

"So ... " started Tai. "Becky does seem cool. I'm just ... I'm not sure if I'm ready for dating yet."

"Listen. Why don't you take her to Matt's thing tonight and just see?" Izzy suggested again, determined. "You won't be completely alone. A lot of your friends will be there."

"Yeah, _including_ Sora," Tai pointed out.

"Tai, you have to – "

" – get over her, I know," Tai interrupted. He sighed to himself and said, "You're right, dude. You couldn't be more right. Maybe I should ask Becky out?"

"Yes you should."

"But Izzy, are you _positive_ you're okay with this?"

"Absolutely!" Izzy answered with the upmost confidence – although his voice sounded slightly higher than usual. "I'm ninety-nine point nine percent positive."

Although it did seem Izzy was completely indifferent to the idea of Becky dating one of his friends, Tai secretly worried about that point one percent ...

Meanwhile, an unexpected visitor had arrived at Yolei's apartment.

"YOLEI!" Yolei's mother called out to her from the front door. "Your friend Davis is here!"

Yolei – who was dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt, walked out and took Davis to her bedroom. Davis was still in his school uniform.

"Davis, what are you doing here? I already told you, I'm not going to write your essay!"

But Davis's appearance at Yolei's place had nothing to do with an essay ...

"I'm going mad, Yolei!" Davis declared.

"Tell me something I don't know," said Yolei, unmoved.

It seemed Davis truly was going mad. He clutched to his purple spiked hair, looked at Yolei manically and said:"This is all Cody's fault!"

"What is? And _stop_ doing that!" Yolei went over to Davis and physically wrenched his hands from his hair. "That's not going to do anybody any good."

"It's that speech he made yesterday – that speech about _love_. I can't stop thinking about it! I'm not used to thinking this much, my head hurts!"

"Calm down! Here, take a seat."

They both sat on Yolei's bed.

"Enlighten me, Davis: why has Cody's speech got you so crazy?"

"Because, " Davis began, crossing his brow as if he were concentrating particularly hard. "I've been thinking maybe I really am infatuated with Kari. Not in love with her. Maybe you and Cody are right? And if you are, it makes tonnes more sense Kari loves TK. Even though that's completely screwed up to admit ... I always deep down thought they'd end up together. I mean, it's obvious she loves him? Isn't it?"

Yolei stared at Davis in brutal disbelief. She'd never heard him talk about Kari and TK this way before. She'd never even heard him pronounce TK's name correctly!

"I thought they were in love as well," Yolei eventually said, in a quiet voice.

"Why don't you think they're together?" Davis asked, to which Yolei shrugged her shoulders.

"Beats me! Things get complicated. What about Tai and Sora? We all thought they'd be boyfriend and girlfriend by now."

"Yeah ... that's true."

A moment's pause, before Davis went on.

"I just ... I can't believe it!"

Yolei was beginning to worry now. She eyed Davis distrustfully. "Davis ... is it possible you're upset TK and Kari _aren't_ dating? Because if you are ... I'm starting to think you might be possessed."

Smiling, Davis said, "I'm not possessed, Yolei. Only ... confused. Anyway, thanks for listening to me. And sorry for barging into your house uninvited."

"What are you talking about? You barge into my house three times a week or more!"

"Hey, do think it'd be all right if I asked Kari out on a date?"

To this, Yolei suddenly stiffened up. "What? No, Davis you can't do that!"

"Why not? She's not in love with TK like we all thought she was."

"Kari _thinks_ she's not in love with TK, but that shouldn't suggest she isn't not in love with him like she thinks she actually really is!"

Davis stared at Yolei, utterly dumfounded. "Thanks Yolei, now my head hurts again!"

_Night fall_.

At seven o'clock that evening, Matt was backstage getting ready to perform with his band. Sora and TK had already arrived, sitting together at the front of the stage. Tai and Becky were on their way. Izzy had originally been going as well, but seeing as he wanted Tai and Becky to get to know eachother a little better, he decided to sit this one out.

As Sora and TK were talking, the band Garfunk suddenly took the stage. Sora noticed TK seemed quite preoccupied with the lead singer, who was busy tuning her guitar.

"Ah, TK?"

"Hm?" TK turned towards Sora, sounding vague. "Sorry Sora, did you say something?"

"Do you know her?" Sora asked, indicating towards the stage. TK blushed.

"No! I mean, not exactly ... Matt just mentioned she was a good singer, that's all."

"Evening ladies and gentlemen," said the red-headed lead singer – this time to an actual live audience. "Thanks for having us here tonight. We hail from Ireland, our band is called Garfunk. We hope you enjoy the show."

To TK's complete surprise, she looked down at him as she spoke her last words – just as she'd done felt his stomach do another back flip. Sora chuckled behind her hand.

As Garfunk starting playing a rock ballad, which kept TK thoroughly mesmerized, Sora noticed Tai and Becky arrive. She expected Izzy to walk in after them ... but he appeared to be absent.

"Excuse me," Sora said to TK, who wasn't listening anyway, as she got up out of her chair and made her way over to the entrance.

"Hey guys!" she said, approaching Tai and Becky.

"Sora, hey!" said Tai, with a big smile. "I heard you were sick today. You all right?

"Yeah, I'm fine now," Sora reported positively. "It was a tummy bug, no big deal."

"You remember Becky, right?"

"Yeah! Hi Becky."

"Hey Sora."

"So where's Izzy?" Sora couldn't help but ask, looking from one to the other. "Is he late?"

"He was gonna come ... " said Becky, looking up at Tai. Tai completed her sentence.

" ... yeah he was totally coming, but then he had this thing he had to do last minute."

"Oh," said Sora, surprised. "So it's only you guys then? Well um, did you want to sit with me and TK? We're sitting at the front of the stage."

Tai and Becky followed Sora to their seats. Sora, for her part, couldn't shake the feeling Tai was on a _date_ with Becky ...

"Thank you!" said Garfunk's lead-singer into the microphone, after finishing her song. Everyone applauded her. "Here's another one we hope you like."

Garfunk began playing their second song for the evening. By now Sora, Tai and Becky were seated. TK barely even noticed their presence. Sora watched over Tai and Becky as they talked with eachother ... sitting _very_ close ...

"I think I'll go find Matt backstage," she said to them over the music, already standing up.

"Okay. Say hi for me!" Tai replied, before reverting his attention to Becky.

It didn't take long for Sora to find Matt backstage. He was standing outside the band's dressing room; dressed completely in black and holding his electric guitar.

"Hey babe!" he said, going over to her. "You all right? Not still sick, are you?"

"It's on and off, but I'm doing okay," Sora reassured him. "Tai and Becky just arrived."

"Cool! So Izzy's here too then?"

"Ah ... no. It's just Tai and Becky. Tai and Becky together. _Alone_ together."

"They're not on a date, are they?"

"Actually ... I think they might be."

"Tai and _Becky_?" Matt repeated, rather loudly. "Not that there's anything wrong with Becky, it's just ... I thought Izzy was into her?"

"You and me both," said Sora in agreement. Matt suddenly started chuckling. Sora was perplexed.

"What? What's so funny?"

"Nothing! I was just thinking how Jun's not gonna like this news."

"What does Jun have to do with anything?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you? Jun likes Tai now! And she thinks they're dating."

"_What_!" said Sora, in total shock. "Jun likes Tai? Oh no, poor Tai ... "

"Yep. I know exactly how he feels."

"She's like a plague!"

Back out front ...

Becky and Tai had been in deep conversation ever since Sora had gone. Tai was asking Becky about her family and her life back in Colorado. "Everyone back home thinks I'm Willis' younger sister, not his older sister," Becky was explaining. "It's because I'm so much shorter than him."

"And because you have a baby-face," Tai observed.

"That too," Becky said shyly. "It sucks."

"Nah, it's a good! When your forty people will think your thirty."

"Yeah but when I'm twenty people will still be asking for my ID."

Tai laughed. "That's true."

By now, Garfunk had finished playing.

"Thanks everyone, have a great night!" said the lead singer, waving. She then followed the rest of her band mates off stage.

"Think I'll go get a drink at the bar," TK said to Tai and Becky. "You guys want anything?"

"We're good, thanks TK," Tai responded. He then teased him by saying, "Stay away from the beer!"

TK chuckled and joked, "Yeah, they kept telling me that at my last AA meeting." He then headed over to the bar to buy himself something along the lines of an orange juice or lemonade.

There was a bit of a queue at the bar. As TK waited, somebody came to wait beside him.

"I recommend the soda water," said a girl with an Irish brogue. "Unless you got a fake ID handy."

TK caught his breath. The lead singer of Garfunk was standing right by his shoulder! He opened his mouth to say something to her ... but then couldn't think what to say. He couldn't stop noticing how she had a cluster of freckles on the tip of her nose ...

"So you got a name then?" she asked, filling the silence.

"TK," he answered, sounding a little choked. He cleared his voice before talking again. "I'm Matt's brother. Matt Ishida ... "

"I'm Nell," she introduced herself. "Nell Byrne."

"Hey there ... " said TK ... awkwardly. Nell simply smiled.

"Hey there ... " she repeated, amused.

"_Oh dear GOD I suck!"_ TK thought to himself in embarrassment, before attemting to say something a little more subsantial.

"You've got a great voice! I mean, I liked you singing."

"Thanks," said Nell, continuing to smile at him. "I liked you watching."

_Gulp_. This girl was way confidant – and looking at TK in a way no girl had ever looked at him before!

"So, um ... can I get you a drink?"

"I'd love one," Nell accepted.

TK fished into his pockets for some cash. "I'm sorry, I don't have a fake ID handy ... "

Nell chuckled. "That's okay. A glass of soda water will be fine."

Meanwhile ...

"Is that ... is that my _little brother_? Chatting up the lead singer of Garfunk?"

Matt had come out from backstage momentarily with Sora, intending to say hello to everyone (and to see Tai and Becky together for himself). On his way out, he noticed TK standing at the bar with Nell Byrne. A most unexpected sight!

"He couldn't stop staring at her when she was singing," Sora informed him.

"Wow," said Matt, genuinely stunned. "So he wasn't kidding when he told me he and Kari weren't going out. I thought he was just being deluded ... "

"Guess not. TK's not going out with Kari ... Jun likes Tai ... Izzy's not interested in Becky. Did I miss something?"

As Sora said this, she turned to where Tai and Becky were seated. They were still leaning into eachother, talking. Looking as though they were having a wonderful time ...

"You know what, I better go backstage again. I'm almost up."

Matt's words broke Sora out of her reverie.

"Okay then," said Sora, nodding. "You go, we'll you see afterwards."

"You all right?" Matt asked ... sensing there was something a bit 'off' about her all of a sudden. Sora quickly pretended to be more chirpy.

"Yeah, I'm fine! Really, go."

He kissed her on the lips, and then went backstage again. When he was out of sight, Sora let her guard drop. For some reason she couldn't go back and sit with Tai and Becky anymore. For some reason she felt like the walls were closing in on her ...

Meanwhile, near the stage, Tai had looked up in the nick of time - catching sight of Sora running out the front door.

"Becky, can you excuse me for minute? I have to go check on Sora. I think she's upset ... "

Becky let him go, without any trouble. Tai apologised again and said he'd be back soon. Leaving Becky behind, he snaked his way through the bar crowd and out the front door. Once on the street, he found Sora. Standing with her back to him, facing the gutter.

"Sora?"

Tai was right. She _was_ upset.

"How embarrassing," she sniffed, wiping her face clean. As Tai approached her, she averted her eyes. As if ashamed.

"Sora, what's wrong? Did ... did you and Matt have a fight?"

"No," Sora shook her head. "No, it's not anything like that."

"_They never fight anyway,"_ Tai thought. "_Matt's the model boyfriend ... "_

"What is it then?" Tai asked her.

Sora still averted her eyes. "I ... I don't know."

Even though she wouldn't tell him what was wrong, Tai had a feeling what it was about.

"Is it because Matt's going to America?"

Sora looked up at him now, somewhat surprised. "He told you about that? I didn't know ..."

"I'm sorry," said Tai. "I'm probably making you more upset by talking about it!"

"It's okay," said Sora, shrugging it off. "I'll be fine. It's been a rough couple of days, that's all."

"Okay."

Tai suddenly felt a little ... _stuck_. He always hated it when Sora cried. He remembered, when they were younger and she'd cry sometimes, he'd always feel so helpless! Which wasn't too disimilar to what he was feeling right now. _"Should I hug her?"_ he thought, slightly panicked. _"No! I better not. I'm on a date. Can you hug other girls when you're on a date?"_

"I ... um," Tai started to say, rubbing the back of his head nervously, "I better head back inside. Are you gonna come back inside too?"

"Yeah, I'll come back. I'll see you in a minute."

"You promise?"

Sora smiled. "Yeah."

Letting her go, Tai headed back on inside. _"I should've hugged her,"_ he thought, as he made his way through the entrance.

* * *

**The next chapter may take a while to put up ... maybe. You see, I'd already written these first five chapters a while ago and now I have to write the rest as I go! I'll go as fast as I can, thanks for reading thus far :)**


	6. I Think I Might Love You, VI

**I Think I Might Love You, VI.**

_At the end of that night ..._

Tai had returned home from the bar. His mother had picked him up, dropping Becky off first at Izzy's place. Sora had gone with Matt and TK's dad. She was staying over at Matt's that night.

"Want some potato juice before you go to bed, Tai?" Mrs. Kamiya asked, now in the kitchen.

"Ah gee, let me think about that for a second ... _no_!" came Tai's sarcastic response. He'd just walked in through the front door and closed it shut.

"Suit yourself!" said Mrs. Kamiya indifferently, walking out of the kitchen and to her bedroom. "Goodnight then."

"Goodnight, mom."

Feeling very sleepy, Tai was about to head off to bed himself when all of a sudden ... the phone rang. He picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Tai! Tai it's me."

"_Izzy_?"

"So how'd it go tonight? I want all the details!"

"Izzy ... couldn't this wait til morning? Or couldn't you ask Becky yourself? I dropped her at yours like ten minutes ago!"

"I can't ask Becky stuff like that, Tai. She's a girl!"

Tai sighed heavily.

"I noticed. Tonight was ... great, actually. You were right, Izzy. Becky's awesome."

"See, I told you! So did you kiss her?"

"No! It was only the first date."

"So there's gonna be a _second_ date?"

"Yeah ... "

"Will you kiss her then?"

"Goodnight Izzy!"

"But Tai – "

With that, Tai hung up the phone – only to have it ring again. Irritated, Tai picked it up.

"Izzy, I'll talk to you tomorrow!"

"It's not Izzy ... "

A girl's voice was on the other line. The dreaded voice of –

"JUN?" Tai practically shouted.

"_Surprise_!" Jun giggled stupidly. "So how's my new boyfriend doing?"

"Jun ... for the last time I am NOT your boyfriend!"

"Oh whatever! I saw you tonight, at Matt's gig. I saw you there with that blonde American girl ... "

"You mean you were _there_?"

"Of course! I never miss one of Matt's performances. I'm his number one fan!"

"I know," said Tai grimly. "Only you usually show up at the front row with poms poms."

"I decided to be more discreet this time. I would've come over and sat next to you, only you were with that American. But don't worry! I'm not mad at you or anything. We're only pretending to go out after all!"

"No we're not!"

"Honestly, Tai! You should've told me you were planning on seeing someone else to make Sora jealous. Nice work, by the way! It totally worked."

Tai was seriously losing his patience. He wanted nothing more than to hang up the phone and go to bed! But, then again ... what if there was the slightest chance that Jun was onto something?

"Jun, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do! You saw how Sora got upset. You went after her!"

"Sora was upset because Matt's going overseas for the summer!"

"Nuh uh. She was staring at you and the other girl for the longest time. _Then_ she got upset and walked out. It was classic!"

_"If only it were true,"_ Tai thought sadly. He wanted to believe it, but because it was coming from the mouth of Jun he just couldn't.

"I'm going to bed now, Jun."

"Hang on! We're still gonna pretend to go out, right? If it looks like you're dating two girls at once, Sora will be even MORE jealous!"

"Goodnight, Jun!"

"TAI – "

Tai slammed the phone on the hook. Actually, he was tempted to unplug the thing all together.

"Why is Jun calling you?"

Looking over his shoulder, Tai saw Kari sitting on the couch with the Kamiya's cat Miko resting on her lap. He hadn't noticed them.

"Kari, what are you doing sitting out here in the dark?"

"I was sick of doing homework in my room, so I came out here to have a nap," Kari explained.

"Why were you so quiet when me and mom came in?"

"I didn't want her to offer me a glass of potato juice," Kari answered logically, before returning to the previous topic. "So since when does Jun call you? And why does she think you're her boyfriend?"

"_I'm not her boyfriend_!" Tai was at his wits end. Kari seemed quite entertained.

"Why were guys talking about Sora?"

Too tired and bothered to think up some lie, Tai just said, "Because Jun – her royal highness of the planet deluded! Thinks if she and I pretend to date, Sora will be jealous and dump Matt. Therefore allowing Jun to go after Matt again."

Kari mused this for a moment. "Jun thinks Sora would be jealous if you dated someone else? Why does she think that?"

"Kari, it's _Jun_! The girl figures herself "perceptive", but blindly believes Matt will someday go out with her. She's as perceptive as a slab of concrete!"

Deciding not to comment on this any further, Kari asked, "So how was your date tonight? Your real date ... "

"Good! Nice ... " Tai reminisced, smiling. Then he broke into a yawn. "I'll tell you more about it in the morning, all right? I've gotta go to bed before somebody else randomly calls me." As Tai made his way to his bedroom, he said, "You should've come out tonight, instead doing homework."

"Ew! I don't want to go out with you and your new girlfriend on your first date," Kari joked.

"Becky's not my girlfriend," Tai yawned, opening his bedroom door. Before he closed it, he added, "Not yet anyway."

Meanwhile, over at Izzy's ...

After ringing his friend Tai, Izzy – dressed in 'intergalactic' themed pyjamas, started to make his way to the bathroom. In doing so, he had to pass through the hallway outside the spare bedroom – _Becky's_ bedroom. At least it was Becky's room while she was staying with the Izumi's. When Izzy walked past her door, he couldn't help but overhear Becky talking to somebody on the phone. Somebody called 'Amber'. Izzy remembered one of Becky's good friends back in Colorado was named Amber ...

"He's _so_ cute!" Becky chirped away excitedly. "He's like the cutest guy ever! Ever since the first time I saw him, walking outside of Mr. Sugimoto's. I couldn't believe it when I got to school and he was one of Izzy's best friends! You should've seen me Amber, I practically melted into a puddle when we were introduced. I was such a dork!"

"_Wow, Becky 's really got it for Tai!"_ Izzy thought, surprised, as he stood and listened outside Becky's door. _"I didn't realise it was this full on ... "_

"Izzy set us up," Becky was now saying. At the sound of his name, Izzy's senses heightened. "Duh Amber, Izzy must be okay with me and Tai going out if he set it up. He's such a nice guy!"

Suddenly feeling he'd intruded enough onto Becky's privacy, Izzy continued to make his way to the bathroom as planned. Once inside, he locked the door and went over to stand at the toilet. While doing his business, he began to talk to himself – just as Joe liked to do lately.

"I'm a nice guy," Izzy began, in quiet voice. "Tai's the cutest guy ever, and I'm a nice guy ... "

Flushing the toilet, he moved over to the sink to wash his hands where his conversation with himself continued.

"It's good to be a nice guy! Sure it might sound bland, but what do I care what Becky thinks of me? She likes Tai, and Tai needs somebody to help him get over Sora. Somebody who gets all your stupid jokes. Somebody who understands you like nobody else ever has. Somebody ... AGH!"

Izzy had reached up to open the medicine cabinet above the sink, to retrieve his toothbrush. In doing so, he'd 'yanked' his toothbrush so aggressively from out of the cabinet that nearly the entire contents within had crashed and toppled to the bathroom floor. Two bottles smashed. There was urgent knock at the door, accompanied by the muffled sound of Izzy's mother's voice.

"Izzy, are you all right?"

"I'm fine, mom!" Izzy called out, standing amongst the mess he'd created. "I fine ... "

_I'm fine_.

Speaking of Joe ...

He was up late, studying – how unlike him? He was distracted suddenly, when his computer went 'ping'.

"Huh?" Joe looked up from the text book he was reading at his desk, and moved his chair over to his computer ...

It was an email from Mimi!

Joe's heart skipped a beat. He clicked to open Mimi's message, which read:

_Hi Joe! How r u? Studying too hard, am I right? Ha ha, I know you too well! Sorry I can't chat with you like usual, I'm about to go out for some more sightseeing with Willis. I'll catch up with you soon though. As always, wish you were here!_

_Luv and kisses, Mimi xx_

There was a photo attached to Mimi's email. Joe clicked to open it. Once it downloaded, an enlarged photo of Mimi materialised onto Joe's computer screen. It looked like it was a beautiful day; Mimi was posing on a boat in front of the Statue of Liberty. Joe would've loved the photo ... if wasn't for the inclusion Willis – standing beside Mimi, with his arm around her. Joe's heart sank into the pit of his stomach.

"She sure is spending a lot of time with that Willis guy ... "

Meanwhile, in New York City ...

"Hey Mimi! Ready to go?"

"I'll be right there!"

Mimi Tachikawa was lying on her bed with her pink coloured laptop. After sending Joe's message, and after hearing Willis call for her from the other side of her bedroom door, she closed her laptop shut and scrambled off the bed – but _not_ before checking her appearance in the mirror.

"Mimi, c'mon!" Willis urged her. "We'll miss the bus and I can't afford a taxi!"

"I'm just making sure my hair's okay!" Mimi answered.

"Mimi – for the twentieth this morning, your hair is perfect! _C'mon_!"

Once Mimi felt she was suitable for public viewing, she and Willis caught a bus to the Empire State building. However, before they could go inside the Empire State building, Mimi told Willis she had a craving for a milkshake. Willis, who had skipped breakfast that morning, thought it was a great idea. They took a break at a nearby cafe, where they both ordered two large chocolate milkshakes.

"Hmm, yummy!" said Mimi, after swallowing down some of her chocolate milkshake. "I told you this was a good idea."

"I never said it wasn't," Willis smirked from across the table. "So did you chat to Joe this morning?"

To this, Mimi shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. I woke up too late so I just sent him an email and a photo."

"And did this email happen to include anything about ... oh say, your feelings for him?" Willis teased. Mimi rolled her eyes.

"No, it didn't as a matter of fact," she answered poshly. "I told you Willis, you can't do that kind of thing over email or video chat. It's too tacky!"

"But how else is he gonna know?" Willis pointed out. "And how else are you gonna know if he likes you too?"

"He probably doesn't even like me anyway," said Mimi, slouching in her seat. "Joe's so intelligent, why would he want to be with a ditz like me?"

"You're not a ditz," Willis complimented her. Mimi smiled at him.

"Considering you attend Colorado State, I'll take that as a compliment. But seriously, you should've seen me and Joe when we were kids. He thought I was so silly, I annoyed him _so_ much! He annoyed me too, of course. I thought he was all stuffy and serious. We were total opposites."

"Couldn't have been all bad," Willis observed. "If you like him so much now."

"Yeah, it wasn't all bad. Joe could be very caring, he always looked out for me. But anyway, why am I bothering with all this? Joe and I live in different countries now. I should be trying to forget all about it and move on ... "

_Would that be such a bad thing?_ Willis thought absentmindedly, while taking a minute to drink his milkshake. After all, he had begun to develop feelings for Mimi himself. If only Mimi wasn't so hung up on Joe ...

"Has anything ever happened between you and Joe before?" Willis asked Mimi, changing the subject slightly.

"Not really," said Mimi conversationally. "There was only that one time, when he sent me a valentine while I was vacationing in Hawaii. But after that I was living in the States and we never really got to discuss him sending it ... we just write to eachother and chat over the internet all the time. He must've liked me at one point, I suppose."

Because Mimi started to look quite glum, Willis decided to cheer her up with a little gossip.

"Do you wanna know who my big sis went out with on a date the other night?"

"Oooh, tell me!" Mimi squealed happily, bright-eyed. "Is it someone we know?"

"Yup."

"_Who_?"

"Tai Kamiya."

"_No_!" said Mimi in a low, stunned voice. "Tai and Becky? That is so adorable! Where did they go?"

"Becky said they went to a bar, to see Matt and his band play. She said she had a really good time, I think she likes him a lot."

"Wait ... wasn't your sister into Izzy? And vice-versa?"

Willis shrugged. "I kind of thought that myself, but Becky says she only sees Izzy as a friend. Plus she said it would be weird, considering they were going to live together once she got to Japan. What if they hooked up and it didn't work out?"

"Point taken," said Mimi, staring down into her milkshake. "But I wonder if Izzy feels the same way as Becky does ... "

"Becky said he's the one who set them up."

Mimi looked up at Willis, surprised. "Really? Izzy the matchmaker? Ha ha! That's sweet. Then again ... Izzy's kind of clueless when it comes to girls. He probably wouldn't know he liked a girl unless somebody explained it to him in some mathematical, computer language."

Willis laughed. "Yeah. I can see that."

* * *

**Sorry for the late update, I've been travelling in Japan eating large amounts of soba noodles and green tea. Hope you guys like this chappie, let me know what you think :)**


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